This week's UK news: 22 June 2012
j0314269
22 June 2012


Comedian criticised by Prime Minister

A newspaper in the UK has been investigating how some of Britain's richest people cut their tax bills this week. It found that one of our best-known comedians, Jimmy Carr, had cut the amount of tax he paid using a legal scheme based in Jersey. The scheme cut the amount of tax some of its members paid to as little as one per cent, compared with a top rate of tax in the UK of 45 per cent.

The Prime Minister commented on this, saying it was "morally wrong", and that people worked hard and saved to buy tickets to Mr Carr's shows.
Mr Carr later said that he had made a "terrible error of judgement" and left the scheme.

A Level courses to change

It was announced this week that A Level courses will be changed during the next few years. In future, universities will play a large part in creating the syllabus, and there will not be any rules on what has to be included for each subject.

Exams will only be held in the summer, not January as at present, and only one resit will be allowed. It is also possible that the AS/A2 structure may change. Final decisions will be made later in the year.

New dress code for a famous day at the races

Horse racing at Ascot in June is a highlight of the social calendar for some people. The week is very popular with the Royal Family, but lots of ordinary people like to go as well.
Ladies Day is the most famous event during the week, and the newspapers are always full of photographs of the outfits, and particularly the hats, worn by women.

This year the racecourse owners have created rules about what people are allowed to wear. The rules for women included hats in the Royal Enclosure, that shoulders and stomachs have to be covered, and that skirts should be a "modest" length. This means not too short. Men had to wear shirts and ties.

Ascot staff were checking what people were wearing and handed out cheap small hats and big scarves to women to cover their heads and shoulders, and ties for men who had forgotten theirs.


Tennis player in trouble

David Nalbandian was disqualified from the final of the Aegon tennis championship in the UK this week after injuring a line judge during the match.

The player was angry about losing a point in the game and kicked a wooden advertising board in front of where the judge, Andrew McDougall, was sitting. The board hit Mr McDougall on the leg and cut it.

Mr Nalbandian was also fined and his actions were reported to the police.

 

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